Wednesday, 14 December 2016

US Congress Passes Key Bill to Combat Religious Persecution

A key
religious freedom bill that would bolster the State Department's ability
to help counter terrorism and the increasing persecution of religious
minorities throughout the world has been sent to President Barack
Obama's desk according to Christian Post

(Photo: Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)

The House passed the legislation on Tuesday after it passed through the Senate unanimously last week.

"From
China and Vietnam to Syria and Nigeria, we are witnessing a tragic,
global crisis in religious persecution, violence and terrorism, with
dire consequences for religious believers and for U.S. national
security," Smith, the chair of the Global Human Rights Subcommittee,
said in a statement.
"Ancient Christian communities in Iraq and Syria are on the verge of
extinction and other religious minorities in the Middle East face a
constant assault from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria."

"The
freedom to practice a religion without persecution is a precious right
for everyone, of whatever race, sex, or location on earth," Smith
continued. "This human right is enshrined in our own founding documents,
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and has been a bedrock
principle of open and democratic societies for centuries."

The
legislation does a handful of different things to help improve the
United States' global diplomacy efforts and train diplomats to be able
to address religious persecution and sectarian conflict.If signed
by Obama, the law would require more frequent executive actions to
counter severe violations of religious freedom across the world. It
would also force all foreign service officers to receive international
religious freedom training and would integrate religious freedom into
"every aspect of U.S. foreign policy," a press release produced by
Smith's office explains.

The law would require the creation of a
"Special Watch List," which would identify countries that engage in or
tolerate violations of religious freedom but do not meet the
requirements to be designated a "country of particular concern."

The
law would also create a "designated persons list" that highlights
people who have committed violations of religious freedom, as well as an
"entity of particular concern" designation for non-state actors, such
as extremist terror groups.

Also, the law would require the
creation of a comprehensive religious prisoners list that highlights
those who are detained, imprisoned and tortured because of their faith.

Such
a list would highlight people like Pakistani Christian mother Asia
Bibi, who has been sitting on death row for over six years after being
accused of committing blasphemy. It would also highlight the numerous
Christians and other religious minorities detained in authoritarian
nations like Iran, Sudan or North Korea.

Additionally, the law
would strengthen the role of special advisor for religious freedom at
the National Security Council and would require the ambassador at-large
for international religious freedom to report to the secretary of state,
a move proponents say would give the ambassador more political
influence.

"When it comes to universal human rights that must be
respected, few are more fundamental to the human spirit than the freedom
to live out your faith according to your conscience, without fear of
persecution, violence or imprisonment," Rubio said in a statement. "But
this right is under assault in every corner of the globe, and we must do
more to defend it and counter the vicious attacks on religious
minorities. Every day, the headlines speak to the necessity of this
legislation — a bombing targeting peaceful worshippers at a Cairo church
over the weekend, another deadly self-immolation in Tibet last week,
and a mob attack against a mosque belonging to Pakistan's beleaguered
Ahmadiyya community just yesterday."

"I'm glad we were able to get
this bill done this year," Rubio added. "And I commend Congressman
Chris Smith for his leadership in passing this legislation. I urge
President Obama to sign it without delay."Passage of the bill was
praised by Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious
Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Moore took to Twitter on Tuesday to praise members of congress for their work in passing the bill.

In an interview with
World, Wolf explained that Smith's bill gives the office of the
ambassador at-large for religious freedom "more teeth" and the
ambassador "a lot more clout."

"Had the bill not passed, it
would have been a defeat for human rights and religious freedom," Wolf
said. "It would have been a terrible message to the church in China,
Nigeria, and Iran — to those being persecuted."